Weekly Round-Up: World Cancer Day Edition #CancerRealityCheck

Time for this week’s round-up of the best of the blog posts which I’ve read over the past week. These are the posts that have moved me, taught me something, inspired me, and which I’ve wanted to share with you. Don’t forget if you have written a post which you would like readers to see, just leave a comment below.

Today is World Cancer Day and to mark it I’ve signed up for the #CancerRealityCheck Thunderclap. You may remember that last year for Breast Cancer Awareness Month the #BreastCancerRealityCheck reached 10 million people. Now on World Cancer Day, the organizers are expanding the campaign to all cancers. You can sign up for the Thunderclap here and find out more about the campaign on Wendi’s blog.

Cancer reality checks abound in the blogosphere this week. Audreywrites of the reality of the struggle of doing the simple tasks we take for granted; Yvonne shares a reflection from her daughter on how her mother’s breast cancer impacted her young life too; Alice-May writes of the ongoing emotional turmoil of breast cancer; Nancycautions against making assumptions about what it’s like to be diagnosed to be diagnosed with breast cancer; Becky reflects on the inbetween stage of finishing treatment and moving forward with life; Stephanie shares thoughts on living life between the scans; Caroline warns us of the risk of heart failure as a result of chemotherapy; Felicitywrites of the multiple lasting effects of a breast cancer diagnosis’ and Uzmashares the harsh reality of living as a metastatic cancer wife and mother.

Depression is another reality of cancer – as Sue shares this week. I struggle a great deal with ongoing depression, so I am extremely grateful this week for Karin’s advice on caring for ourselves when we are depressed and stressed by life’s challenges.

Kellishares a raw and honest account of dealing with opioid dependency as a metastatic breast cancer patient.

Super practical advice as always on Terri‘s blog – this week’s post is about Sensory Nerve Reconstruction During DIEP Flap after a Mastectomy.

As someone who has had to learn to scale back my own advocacy work, I highly recommend reading Dee’s latest post– good advice for those of us involved in advocacy.

Those of you who have known me for some time now will know how much of a passionate advocate I am of telling our stories – it’s the very raison d’etre of this blog and particularly the weekly round-up in which I love to weave our stories together to create a healing narrative. This same theme infuses Sue Robins‘ latest post and I love what she writes about telling our stories this week:

This is why telling our stories – in whatever form – is so important. By gathering our experience into a story, we make sense of random or traumatic events. It is only then that we begin to heal.

Catherinehas written a beautiful reflection on spring, hope, and being mindful and present in our lives.

So delighted to hear the wonderful news of the birth of Jen’s baby daughter, Noelle.

Inspiring posts by Connieon stepping outside of our comfort zone and opening up to new possibilities and Barbon being our own heroes.

I really love the idea of Julia‘s community project – Spreading Peace, Love and Joy – one Heart at a time – it’s the perfect antidote to today’s fake news culture.

Finally this week, I leave you with a quote from Eileen‘s wonderful post on hope and being a survivor – a perfect message for today’s World Cancer Day.

Thanks so much for the mention, Marie. Reading through these descriptions of posts, we’re reminded how we are all in different places in our cancer story. What a dynamic and supportive community has been formed.

Thanks Marie. And ‘hello’ to everyone. A bit quite at this end, as I am trying to follow my own advice and also trying to find confidence to do self advocacy, when (our) health concerns are brushed aside. World Cancer Day is an apt reminder. Love. Karin

". . .and the world cannot be discovered by a journey of miles, no matter how long, but only by a spiritual journey, a journey of one inch, very arduous and humbling and JOYFUL, by which we arrive at the ground at our own feet, and learn to be at home."
Wendell Berry